Product Code: ICA12_M903

Laser Precision Surface Sculpting of 2D Diffractive Optical Structures on Metals
Authors:
Stephanie Giet, Heriot Watt Univ., Department of Physics; Edinburgh Scotland
Andrew Dunn, Heriot Watt Univ., Department of Physics; Edinburgh
Marcus Ardron, Renishaw plc; Edinburgh
Matthew Kidd, Renishaw plc; Edinburgh
Robert Maier, Heriot Watt Univ., Department of Physics; Edinburgh
Nick Weston, Renishaw plc; Edinburgh
Duncan Hand, Heriot Watt Univ., Department of Physics; Edinburgh
Presented at ICALEO 2012

A laser surface sculpting technique, which uses a commercial nanosecond UV laser at 355nm to drive a highly localised melting and melt flow process, is demonstrated for the production of reflective 2D diffractive optical structures on austenitic and martensitic stainless steels. It is shown that this laser-texturing process can be used to generate 1010µm² pattern elements with peak-to-trough heights ranging from 150nm to 500nm. Either single or multiple pulses are used to generate each feature via hydrodynamic surface melt deformations, dependent on the dimensions of the features required, material properties, and the laser parameters. To demonstrate the viability of the process for the generation of 2D diffractive structures, it was used to create 2D matrices on mechanically polished stainless steel samples. The diffraction efficiency of these samples is measured and compared with a Fraunhofer diffraction model.

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